The Extended Consumer Price Index-15 (IPCA-15) changed 0.10% in July, below 0.13 percentage points in relation to the rate of 0.23% in June.

With that result, the accumulated indicator in 2011 changed to 4.20%, above the rate of 3.26% relative to the same period of 2010. Considering the last 12 months, the index was at 6.75%, above the immediately previous 12 months (6.55%). In July of 2010, the rate was at -0.09%.

Displaying the lowest rate since August of 2010 (-0.05%), the reduction of IPCA-15 from June to July is partly attributable to food products, which registered a deflation of 0.39%, having registered a change of 0.11% in the previous month.

There was an overspread drop in prices, and increase for a few items. Among those that had their prices reduced, the highlights were carrots (-11.96%), tomatoes (-5.18%), fruits (-5.16%), greens (-4.99%), potatoes (-4.13%), chicken (-3.37%), meat (-1.50%) and rice (-1.29%) As a result, the group of food products and beverages exerted an impact of –0.09 percentage points in the month. However, the high accumulated in the year is of 3.33%. 

Other items also contributed to the lower result of the index.

Expenses with housing increased, but quite less, from 0.72% in June to 0.28% in July. That was attributable to the drop of 0.19% in the values of the condominium fees, the deceleration in the pace of growth of the housing rent (from 0.84% to 0.46%), less adjustments in the water and sewage fees (from 1.16% to 0.15%), lower changes as to the labor force for household repairs (from 0.66% to 0.36%) and the drop in the prices of the bottled gas (from 0.43% to –0.24%).

In sale period, apparel articles changed from the high of 1.28% in June to 0.15%, also contributing to the reduction of the index, as well as other items such as medicines, from 0.53% to 0.15%.

Conversely, expenses with the payment of domestic workers, from 0.33% in June to 1.26% in July, was the main individual contributor (0.05 percentage points).

Despite exerting the main downward impact in the month, with –0.06 percentage points, the gasoline had its intensity of fall decreased, as its rate changed from –3.43% in June to –1.49% in July.

That was attributable to the change in the behavior of ethanol, a high of 1.79% in July after the dramatic fall of 16.53% in the previous month. The high of the ethanol, however, was concentrated in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, where the price of the liter increased by 5.75%. Relatively high increases were also recorded in Curitiba (2.07%), Brasília (1.82%) and Salvador (1.55%). Except for Belo Horizonte, where the ethanol stayed at 0.17%, the other regions kept a downward trend, less intense than in June, though.

As a result, while food products were 0.39% less expensive, on average, non-food products increased by 0.25%, a result very next to the one of June (0.27%).

The results of all the groups of products and services surveyed are shown in the following table.

In order to estimate IPCA-15, prices were collected from June 14 to July 13 and compared to those in force from May 14 to June 13 of 2011. The indicator refers to families with a monthly income of one to forty minimum wages and it encompasses the metropolitan regions of Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, Recife, São Paulo, Belém, Fortaleza, Salvador, Curitiba, and also Brasília and Goiânia.

The methodology is the same as the one used for IPCA; the difference is in the period of price collection.

 Among the regional indexes, the highest was registered in Brasília (0.31%), where transportation (0.87%) recorded the highest rate.

Belém (-0.13%) displayed the lowest result, to which the significant fall of food products (-1.03%) contributed. The following table shows the results by region: